Speaking to Pentagon reporters, the official said the US would send F-16 fighter jets to the Gulf region this weekend to reinforce A-10 fighter jets that have been patrolling there for more than a week. The move comes after Iran last week attempted to hijack two oil tankers near the strait, opening fire on one of them.
The defense official, who asked to remain anonymous on condition of revealing details of military operations in the area, said the F-16s would provide air cover to ships navigating the waterway and increase military visibility in the area to deter Iran.
In both cases, the US Navy said the Iranian naval vessels retreated when the guided missile destroyer USS McFaul arrived at the scene.
In addition, the defense official told reporters that the US is considering a range of military options to counter increasing Russian aggression in the skies over Syria, complicating efforts to target an Islamic State group leader over the past weekend. The official declined to give details of the options but said the US would not cede any territory and would continue to fly in the western part of the country on anti-Islamic state missions.
The Russian military activities, which have increased in frequency and aggressiveness since March, are due to increasing cooperation and coordination between Moscow, Tehran and the Syrian government to pressure the US to leave Syria, the official said.
The official said Russia is committed to Iran for its support in the war in Ukraine and Tehran wants the US to leave Syria so it can more easily send deadly aid to Lebanese Hezbollah and threaten Israel. In the US, there has been more cooperation, cooperation, planning and information-sharing, primarily between Russian and Iranian mid-level Quds forces in Syria, to put pressure on the US to withdraw troops from Syria, the official added.
There are about 900 US forces in the country, and others move in and out to conduct missions against Islamic State militants.
The US does not believe that Russian planes are planning to drop bombs on US troops or shoot down manned aircraft. However, there are concerns that Russian pilots would catapult a Reaper drone out of the sky and that Moscow believes this type of action would not elicit a strong response from the US military, the official said.
In March, for example, a Russian warplane spilled fuel on a US surveillance drone and then hit its propeller, forcing the US military to drop the MQ-9 Reaper in the Black Sea. The incident heightened tensions between the two countries and sparked a call between their defense chiefs, but did not result in a direct military response.
Last week, Rear Admiral Oleg Gurinov, head of Russia’s Syrian Reconciliation Center, said the Russian and Syrian military conducted joint training. In comments from Syrian state media, he said Moscow was concerned about US-led coalition drone flights over northern Syria, calling them “systematic violations of protocols” aimed at avoiding clashes between the two militaries.
US and Russian military commanders routinely communicate over a conflict-resolution phone line that has existed for several years to avoid unintended clashes in Syria, where both sides have troops on the ground and in the air.
There are often many calls a day, and they sometimes escalate into angry threats when commanders argue about an ongoing operation, the US official said. Describing a conversation, the official said that the Russians often declare an area in space a restricted zone of operations and say they conduct military exercises there.
The US does not see any drills and tells Russia that US forces are conducting an anti-terrorist mission against the group “Islamic State” and plan to fly into the area. The Russians then say they cannot guarantee the safety of US planes flying there. And once the mission begins and the planes enter the zone, “things get very heated at times,” the official said, while both sides protested loudly, dismissing the other’s claims.
The latest incident came on Friday morning when a Russian plane repeatedly flew over the At-Tanf garrison in eastern Syria, where US forces are training Syrian allies and monitoring the activities of the Islamic State terrorist militia. The official said the Russian An-30 plane was gathering intelligence at the base.
The US had no fighter jets in the area and took no direct action against the Russian flight.
(AP)